Faith
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith is to be in the Lord, not in spiritual principles. We are to call upon the Lord. The Scriptures do not counsel us to attempt to learn how to manipulate the spiritual realm. The Scriptures direct us to put our faith in the Lord and to wait upon Him. This is a different approach than learning how to work miracles by understanding how the spiritual realm operates.
Faith in the Lord brings glory to the Lord Jesus. The working of spiritual principles exalts the adamic man and leaves him in the bondage of sin and self-will.
Have you ever defined faith as a sort of magic that you can work once you know the tricks? If you have you probably have given up in despair, being somewhat condemned that you "do not have enough faith" to get your answer. Faith is not magic or a metaphysical principle, it is our grasp on God's Character and the faithfulness of His promises.
The Scriptures promise great joy to the believer. One of our favorite passages is as follows:
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalms 37:4)
Another is:
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalms 84:11)
God will withhold no good thing from the individual who walks uprightly.
We know that God answers prayer. Though it may take a long period of time we are to wait for the answer. In God's Presence there is fullness of joy. He eventually heals all our diseases and fills our mouth with good things. The Lord delivers us from all our afflictions.
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; (Psalms 103:3)
The key to fullness of joy, to the rewards we hope for and pray for, is faith. Perhaps you have had your hopes deferred and your heart is sick. You may have had to labor in a hated situation for many years. You have trusted that you would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That expectation has kept you from fainting. But time goes on and on and there is no answer.
How are we proceed? Is it possible we have not known how to press forward in faith? Let us look at some of the comments made in the Book of Hebrews to see how faith in God truly operates.
Confidence
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. (Hebrews 10:35)
The Word of God makes many outstanding promises to the believer.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Matthew 21:22)
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13,14)
Perhaps a Christian told us the above verse is a "blank check." "Just fill in the amount." We did, and nothing happened.
Why did nothing take place? Is the Word of God not true? Don't we have enough "faith"?
The Word of God is always true. Heaven and earth shall pass away but the Word of the Lord Jesus never shall pass away.
What, then, is the solution?
The solution is we are not to cast away our confidence for it shall be richly rewarded.
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